Breeding Ilyodon Cortesae "freckled Splitfin"

[chrissfishes]

Sorry for the wait but I finally got my video of these beautiful guys! Very nice pics of the ameca and whitei Gary! That's great the ameca had another drop! Congrats!

Biulu - I will for sure have to find time to contact your friend Gary.

Here is the video:




http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m20/cichlid_lover128/?action=view&current=MOV02205.mp4




Thank you very much! Take care!
Chris

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Lovely fish in the photos and videos, plus congrats on the fry (amazed how a ~5cm female can give birth to 7 ~1cm fish)!

Are there any signs I should be looking for when a female Ilyodon is present? I noticed at least one of my bigger I. xantusi is a female and her silver belly patch looks rather plump.

Have any of you Ilyodon keepers ever seen any of your specimens doing a wierd rocking motion about their long axis, as if trying to catch the light of their colourful flanks to get the attention of others int he group?

 

[fish48]

The rocking side-to-side motion is a normal display both male and females behave in this way.

Yesterday I took a photo of 6cm graved female to give you some idea of how plump they can get.

Today she gave birth to 8 very good size babies.

New born babies some with part of there umbilical cord still attached.

Chris thanks for sharing your video very nice fish and setup.

thank you both for commits on my fish.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Thanks for reassuring me about the rocking motion, this had been distressing me for several weeks, as I kept looking up "the shimmies" and thinking it did not look what was going on.

Your gravid female was very plump, almost squared off profile just before the anal fin, looking so much more streamlined after the birth of the fry (congrats). I will have to have another look at my larger females and see if there are any promising signs!

Are you other Ilyodon keepers putting these fish in community tanks with other fish that enjoy sub-tropical water with a decent current?
Have any of you managed to successfully mix Ilyodon spp. with Xenotoca eiseni (Red Tailed Goodeid)? Getting increasingly drawn to these fish, but a little wary of their potential nippy behavior.

 

[OldMan47]

I keep my X. eiseni separate from other fish. They have a reputation for not mixing well with other fish. Actually all of my goodeids have their own species tank. Most goodeids actually do better with no heater in their tanks. The daily and seasonal temperature variation seems to stimulate them.

I know Gary from another forum where he is going by GaryfromMontreal Biulu. He has far more experience with livebearers and killies than many of us will ever have.

 

[fish48]

When keeping goodeids in captivity it is best to keep them in a their own species tank however it don’t mean we cant mix them remember comperd with in the wild we are keeping fish in confined spacees hewever it may coarse problems at times with aggression. amongst each other. Xenotoca eiseni can be kept with the Ilyodons

Lets remember one of the reasons for Xenotoca eiseni to get a bad reputation is that it was one of the first or the first of the goodeids to inported to the uk back in 1972 many people assumed it was a peaceful fish and put them in with slow moving or long fin fish. they soon fond it was aggresive and a bit of a fin niper so the reputation of them being a bad fish stiks . if you put them in with very small or long fin fish such as male guppy’s then they will shred there fins and eventully kill the fish I have kept female guppy’s and Xenotoca eiseni together with no problems

 

[fish48]

When keeping goodeids in captivity it is best to keep them in a their own species tank however it don’t mean we cant mix them remember comperd with in the wild we are keeping fish in confined spacees hewever it may coarse problems at times with aggression. amongst each other. Xenotoca eiseni can be kept with the Ilyodons

Lets remember one of the reasons for Xenotoca eiseni to get a bad reputation is that it was one of the first or the first of the goodeids to inported to the uk back in 1972 many people assumed it was a peaceful fish and put them in with slow moving or long fin fish. they soon fond it was aggresive and a bit of a fin niper so the reputation of them being a bad fish stiks . if you put them in with very small or long fin fish such as male guppy’s then they will shred there fins and eventully kill the fish I have kept female guppy’s and Xenotoca eiseni together with no problems
one good thig about the female eiseni it's very easy to recognize when graved you can Clearly see the fry
in the mothers belly.

 

[chrissfishes]

Very nice pictures of the adults and fry Gary! They are all beautiful fish! Congrats on the drops! I always love it when my Goodeids have drops of fry or any of my fish have fry. It makes me feel good. I just absolutely love Goodeids. In my opinion they are more enjoyable, rewarding, and beautiful then other live bearers.

Thank you guys very much for the comments on my fish and setup!

What I have found to be best when keeping Goodeids is exactly what Gordon and Gary have mentioned to keep them in their own species tanks. Not a whole lot is known about Goodeids as to which species are more likely to crossbreed with another species and which ones won't with other species. Also, the care for each specie can be different. This is my first Ilyodon species. I have never kept any other Ilyodon. However, I have always wanted to get a hold of some. I really like the Ilyodon family. Along with Xenotoca,Zoogoneticus, and all Goodeids lol! I don't have any experience with the Ilyodon's yet but soon will with the cortesae.

Thank you very much! Take care!
Chris

 

[Biulu]

I know Gary from another forum where he is going by GaryfromMontreal Biulu. He has far more experience with livebearers and killies than many of us will ever have.

That is exactly what I am suspecting and slowly finding out more every day about his knowledge. I have only been keeping fish for 4 years and am more the community/showtank with plants type. Don't have the space either to have species tanks.

Just taking advantage of you guys here: I just obtained 3 beautiful males of about 6 cm each. I am not sure of the species but attach a photo. I have decided since I only have 20 litre tanks to separate them and keep one (with some other smaller livebearers) in each tank to avoid agression. Is this a good idea, or can I keep them together? They will be in these tanks for about 1 month before I take them to Montreal.

 

[fish48]

looks a bit like Poecilia mexicana A type of molly.

 

[OldMan47]

That picture is not X. eiseni, biulu. Xenotoca eiseni look like the picture that fish48 posted with the very deep body, not the streamlined one in your picture. Yours does indeed look more like a wild type molly.

 

[chrissfishes]

I just noticed this morning when I was taking care of the tanks that one of my male A.towerii has a white cyst like spot on his back near his dorsal fin. I moved him to a 10 that has some Cryptoheros cutteri fry. That way I can separate him from the colony and can try to help him. If he needs medication I can move the cutteri fry. However, I would like to take care of this problem as natural as possible. I try to avoid medication if I can. I have a video of him. Please let me know what it might be and what I should do to care for it. Thank you very much! Take care!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chris

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m20/cichlid_lover128/?action=view&current=MOV02208.mp4

 

[fish48]

Keep up with Good water changes the cyst should eventually clear-up If it gets sore / infected.) try a salt bath all you need is a small plastic container or margarine tub
Use fish tank water mix 2 tablespoons of cooking salt (not table salt)
Dip net and fish in salt water for up to 30 seconds any sign of stress or fish turning on it’s side remove it straight away back to main tank .the fish will look and be a bit shocked for a few seconds before it starts to swim. a sick fish can be treated daily if needed, I have treated sick fish this way many times with great success. I have always used cooking salt and know it is safe to use however most people prefer to use marine salt.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Gary

 

[chrissfishes]

Ok great! Thank you very much Gary! I do weekly water changes on all of my tanks is this good for the water changes or should I do more for the 10 gal he is in? Will aquarium salt work?

Thanks again!
Chris

 

[fish48]

i do up to 40%-50% weekly water changes. when/if needed i change twice weekly
most salts work aquarium salt/ marine salt may be more beneficial for the fish